BATAM/JAKARTA: For Roy, a 48-year-old Singaporean businessman who travels frequently to Batam, stories about immigration officers allegedly asking for bribes have long been familiar.
“I go to Batam every week, at least four times a month. Stories about these individuals ‘playing’ have become common knowledge,” said Roy, who declined to reveal his last name.
His family was recently involved in one such incident, he said. “My brother-in-law was detained at immigration and was immediately asked for one million rupiah (US$59)… This is clearly not an official fine – it’s extortion.”
At the Batam Centre International Ferry Terminal on the Indonesian island, signs reading “no tipping” are clearly displayed at immigration counters.
Security cameras monitor interactions and QR codes allow travellers to lodge complaints.
Such safeguards have been in place for some time, with the signs introduced in February 2025.
Yet recent alleged cases have raised questions about why such practices have persisted, and whether the latest government crackdown can outlast the public outrage that triggered it.
In March, reports emerged that two Singaporean tourists were allegedly detained for about two hours at the ferry terminal on March 13 and asked to pay S$100 (US$78) per person to enter Indonesia.
The following day, a Myanmar passport holder travelling with his parents was allegedly told to pay up to S$300, which was later negotiated down to S$250, to avoid being denied entry.
News of the alleged incidents went viral, and the Indonesian authorities moved quickly, removing Batam Immigration Office head Hajar Aswad and reassigning four other officials, with investigations ongoing.
The moves were formalised in an April 1 directive, which saw the five officers temporarily reassigned to the Internal Compliance Directorate for a three-month probe.
Riau Islands regional office head Ujo Sujoto of the Immigration Directorate-General said the five employees are undergoing intensive investigation and stressed that firm action would be taken against those found to have abused their authority.
“We will take action without compromise,” he said in a phone interview on April 7, adding that the authorities were also strengthening supervision through daily monitoring and internal controls.
Are such measures sufficient?
While such measures signal intent, analysts say they are unlikely to be sufficient on their own.
Anti-corruption activist Emerson Yuntho said the Batam case reflects a wider, recurring problem. “These kinds of incidents are not only happening in Batam, but also at other entry points,” he said.
“We have seen similar cases at Sukarno-Hatta airport involving foreign nationals, which suggests this is not an isolated case but a recurring problem,” said Emerson, referring to the main airport in Jakarta.
He pointed to a key challenge: Many victims do not report such incidents out of fear of not being able to return to the country or having action taken against them.
“Many victims choose not to report these incidents, and that creates a cycle where perpetrators feel emboldened to continue because they believe there will be no consequences,” he said.
Even when cases surface, Emerson said enforcement may not go far enough.
“The measures taken so far tend to be administrative in nature, such as removing officials from their posts or reassigning them. These actions may send a signal, but they do not necessarily address the root of the problem.”
Under Indonesia’s anti-corruption law, he added, such acts could carry heavy penalties, including up to 20 years’ jail.
The fact that the officers involved in the recent cases have so far not been criminally charged and may ultimately face only administrative penalties underscores a broader concern, said Emerson, noting that this reflects a lack of commitment to tackling corruption.
“The response will (likely) remain limited to administrative sanctions, which are unlikely to have a lasting deterrent effect.”
Economic pressures may play a role
When asked about why such crimes allegedly continue to happen, Julia Lau, a principal fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, said corruption and informal payments remain embedded in parts of Indonesia’s political and business environment, despite years of reform.
Lau, who is also coordinator for the Indonesia Studies Programme at the institute, noted that earlier studies had found firms in Indonesia allocating significant portions of their costs to bribes, pointing to the persistence of such practices over time.
“Corruption and bribery, or questionable means of generating ‘revenue’, are unfortunately still part of political and business life in Indonesia, although at the border and immigration checkpoints in Batam and elsewhere, we do see many signs on the walls warning tourists and visitors not to give officers any money,” she said.
Economic pressures may also play a role, said Lau, who suggested that the latest bout of corruption may be a sign of how central government budget cuts are squeezing provinces.
“One way to interpret this latest bout of blatant corruption in Batam could be… an indication that the central government’s budget cuts have hit the provinces hard and that individuals feel the need to generate ‘indirect revenue’ by extorting bribes from unsuspecting tourists.”
Likely to be repeated
Associate Professor Yohanes Sulaiman of Jenderal Achmad Yani University said that without deeper institutional reform, such cases are likely to be repeated.
“Unless you really strengthen the rule of law – incorruptible enforcement, a strong legal system, et cetera, this will be a recurring outrage, then enforcement action, then a return to business as usual,” he said.
For Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, the persistence of such practices is rooted in the structure of Indonesia’s governance system.
Indonesia’s entry points, he noted, are governed by multiple overlapping agencies, including Customs, immigration, port authorities, quarantine and the police, each exercising partial authority.
“And fragmented institutions, each with its own power, create red tape. Therefore, for businesses or ordinary citizens, the only way to overcome this red tape and obstacles is through bribery.”
He added that such practices are embedded in wider patronage networks. “This is not merely a local phenomenon... it happens everywhere, and often with the backing of those in power at the national level,” he said.
“This is systemic corruption that has haunted this country for a long time. Many people and organisations benefit from this system.”
In such a system, enforcement actions may have limited long-term effect.
“It likely won’t have much of an impact, as it’s simply a change of actors. Structural problems can’t be solved with patchwork (solutions),” he said.
While recent actions are a positive step, Lau said the scope of accountability remains a key question.
“The authorities firing people and investigating these cases is a positive move to hold some people accountable. The main question is whether the true mastermind is also held to account, or just the lower-ranking ones who are being caught.”
For now, however, travellers say that they are willing to accept the risks involved in travelling to Batam. Many, like 52-year-old Awi Rizal, a Singaporean office worker, said their experiences at the checkpoint have remained smooth despite the recent alleged incidents.
“I've never had a single problem. Immigration services have been smooth,” said Rizal, who has family in Indonesia and visits Batam every three months to see relatives.
Roy said that while the recent crackdown is a step in the right direction, the deeper problem remains unresolved, and he hopes that more will be done.
“The country will not progress if its laws can be bought with small change. This problem of bribery and corruption must be eradicated at its roots,” he said.
“But if tourists or visitors feel extorted, they will be afraid to return.” - The Straits Times/ANN
